Painful Memories: Old and New.
He sat at on the bed of his cottage, with her sweet scent still lingering about. Maha finally decided to join him inside, looking more annoyed than ever. “So, it’s finally happened… You’ve finally found “the one.” Maha floated over to him and entered the personal space zone. Ferd looked him in the eyes and thought hard before answering. “I think so.” “What now?” Maha inquired. Maha floated back, relaxing his facial expression and showing, for the first time in years, a smile. Maha was genuinely happy for him.
“I think… we should go see Ryu.” Ferdomar replied. Maha’s smile was short lived, as it immediately turned into a frown. Maha floated down to Ferdomar’s feet and sat down, looking up at him. “How long has it been?” Maha asked. Ferdomar looked down at him and thought for a moment, silently counting the years since the end of the war. “9 years.” He choked out. He could still remember that day, rather vividly. It brought tears to his eyes, but he still managed to hold himself together. “Lets go Maha, before it starts to get dark.” He got up from his bed and walked over the his armor, which he had hung up to dry. He polished it up before putting it on, making sure it came on wrinkle free. He looked over to Maha, who just float there. Maha didn’t show much emotion, but Ferdomar could tell when he was feeling down, and Ferd was feeling a massive wave of depression emanating from him.
They left the cottage almost immediately. It wasn’t a very long walk, but neither of them wanted to be there for very long. Maha chose to let Ferd hold onto him in pole arm form, he wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of going over to Ryu’s grave. It made Maha feel uneasy, and he thought that having Ferd hold onto him would keep him stable. The winding path that led from the cottage to the grave went through a small forest around the lake, and the grave was on the opposite side.
The trail itself is rather pleasant, trees and shrubbery on both sides, a decent coverage from the sun, and a narrow gravel path. If you looked on one side, you can even see the lake through the trees. After 10 minutes or so of walking, they finally reached the end of the trail. It opens up into a small circular area. In the middle, lays a tombstone about 3 feet in height, and 2 feet in width. Surrounding it, was clean cut grass; free of weeds and shrubs, and out side of that circle were the trees around it. Ferdomar approached the tombstone, and bent down on one knee in front oh it. He bowed his head and muttered an incoherent prayer. He raised his head and read out loud the inscription on the tombstone: “Death leaves a pain that none can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal. For the bravest among us, may he rest in peace in the canine heaven above. Ryu.”
He couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. He fell down to both knees and began to cry, as he began to remember the horrible faith that befell Ryu 8 years ago.
It was nearly midnight, and the fight had been going on for days now. Many of the others were holding back the forces of the Black Mage from entering Victoria Island. Ferdomar and the other 4 Master Generals were fighting the Mage head on, finally nearing the end for him. Evan: The dragon master, Mercedes: The one who wields dual bow-guns, Phantom: The Card wielding thief, Luminous: The corrupt magician, and Ferdomar: The arctic pole arm master; had all finally backed him into a corner. Ferdomar was riding Ryu, the wolf that had been with him since childhood, who was with him and trained with him since he gained the abilities that Maha granted him. Ferdomar had charged off Ryu and towards The Mage, ready to deliver one heaving blow straight through him with Maha, allowing for the others to aim their final attacks out the gaping wound. Unfortunately, much like the previous time they had fought The Mage, he tried to make one last effort to destroy them. As Ferdomar landed his attack, The Mage was able to sling him across the battlefield, and fired a spell at him. Ferdomar had no time to react, and neither did the other heroes, they all just stood their and watched for the inevitable blow on Ferd. There was a large bang and smoke where Ferdomar lay, and they were all fairly sure that he was done for. After the smoked cleared, there stood Ferdomar, looking at a mangled body that lied in front of him. He stood there, with tears in his eyes, and anger in his heart and soul. Ryu had managed to jump in front of him and absorbed the full blow of the blast. To this day no one knew how Ryu was able to, but thanks to that power that he had, Ferdomar and Maha survived a fatal attack.
Ferdomar stood up and walked over to the tomb, laying a hand on it. “Your in a better place now, dear friend.” He choked out. In his other hand he held Maha, who, he could feel was shaking in his grip. He withdrew his hand and slowly walked away from the tomb, glancing over his shoulder just before exiting back into the path. He walked back to his hut, wanting to speak to someone, anyone. Maha wasn’t speaking at all, he couldn’t even bring himself to change back into his spirit form. He called Allie, but the phone rang and rang with no answer. He wanted to call Esme, but he didn’t know if she was home or not.
He realized that maybe they were both at Cheryl’s and decided on calling her and asking if he could speak to either of them. What happened next was beyond unexpected. When Cheryl answered, she was in hysterics, nothing coherent was coming through the phone. “Cheryl, what’s wrong? Did something happened?” Cheryl finally calmed down and attempted to explain “Allie… dead…. Esme…. Gone… I can’t…. I need to go.” Before he could question her, she hung up on him. He stood there like a statue, holding the phone in one hand, the other holding him up against the wall. The sudden shock of what she had said still hadn’t seeped in. He dropped the phone and began to pace madly around the cottage. The more he thought over what he was just told, the more unstable he became. He grabbed Maha (still as a pole arm) and burst out of his mushroom shaped cottage. His eyes were white, something that only happens in battle. He looked like a rabid animal, a bomb ready to blow at the slightest disturbance. He looked back at his home, and all he could see imagine was how badly Allie could have been. Then the second half of the situation sunk in.
With a swing of Maha, a shrill howl could be heard echoing from the distance, then several large crashes and an explosion. From afar, there was a cloud of dirt and water visible, which eventually fell back down to a once peaceful and beautiful scenery. There was a large crater where the cottage use to be, followed by a path that appeared to had been made from an inhuman monster, which lead and finished at the lake. There was large portion of the lake that was gone, leaving only dirt and fallen tries. The water level in places was now lower, causing a waterfall effect.
Back on shore, about a mile or so away from the lake, was Ferdomar. He was on his knees, gripping Maha in one hand, and the other clutching part of his face. He had finally calmed down, but it was too late in his eyes. The damage had been done; physically, and emotionally.
